Pres. Muizzu appeals to tobacco traders to pursue alternative businesses

President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu, on Wednesday, appealed to tobacco traders to cease selling tobacco products and transition to alternative businesses. 

He made the appeal while speaking at the second episode of the President’s Office’s podcast, ‘Rayyithunna Eku’, aimed at engaging with the public, fostering closer connections, and promoting governance through active public consultation.

Notably, the current administration has banned vape and doubled taxes levied on cigarettes as part of efforts to control tobacco use.

Speaking during the podcast, the President encouraged people to refrain from smoking and using tobacco products.

He cited the primary objective behind doubling down on tobacco prices as to discourage consumption, emphasizing that gradual tax increases would not effectively reduce usage. In this regard, he said incremental tax hikes would merely raise retail prices, ultimately benefiting tobacco sellers rather than curbing demand.

Reiterating his appeal for traders to transition to alternative businesses, the President emphasized that, given the Maldives' relatively small population, the country should not support a tobacco industry. He called for strong measures to reduce the prevalence of tobacco use in the nation.

“I request businesses importing and selling cigarettes to cease this business and pursue an alternative. This is not something worth doing. Moreover, we are a small, small nation. We do not have a population of millions. Why should this be done here? It would be much more imperative to save our small society,” he said.

During Wednesday’s episode, the President also shared his proposals for a generational tobacco ban, aimed at keeping younger generations away from smoking, highlighting three potential approaches for the ban. As per the President, the ban focusing on the 18–25 age group would make it easier to prevent addiction before it becomes entrenched.

The Generation Ban has been adopted in various countries around the world to keep young people from starting tobacco use. It introduces a complete ban on tobacco products for certain age groups.

The hike in the duty levied on tobacco products has raised the price of a cigarette box from MVR 110 to MVR 240. Despite the hike in the duty, the revenue generated from the tax on cigarettes has significantly declined.

Moreover, the sale of cigarettes that have been illegally imported has also seen a rise, with multiple such cases reported recently.

The opposition has accused the government of hiking the duty levied on tobacco products to increase state revenue. However, the government has affirmed the measures were implemented with public health as a priority.